1 - Prologue

In a hospice in London

Sabina lay in her bed in her assisted living hospice, while some random TV show played in the background. She knew she didn't have long left and was content. During her long life, with its ups and downs, she had achieved a lot. Her biggest gripe with old age was the sheer boredom of it all. Who would want to spend their life in bed? At least she would get some visitors today, it would break the monotony at least.. The hospice arranged for teenagers to visit the elderly on the weekends. She wondered who she would get today.

After struggling through a thoroughly boring breakfast, being a foodie stuck in a hospice was such a chore! If only she could stomach richer fare.

As she sat in her high backed chair, with a cup of tea, she mused at least they got the chairs right. The shape supported her well and was truly a seat you could sprawl in.

As she mused a couple of teenage girls walked in. They seemed to be deep in conversation, probably some drama. Something Sabina missed, even though it could get tiresome sometimes.

The two looked at Sabina a little hesitantly. She had not seen these girls before, so mostly likely it was their first time here.

“Good morning. I am Sabina. Please, do come in and take a seat” said Sabina.

“I am Janet, and this Emma. Nice to meet you Sabina” said Janet. She still looked unsure of herself. Emma just looked on.

“First time here dearies?” asked Sabina.

They both nodded. “So what brings you young ladies here today?” asked Sabina.

“We were given some homework, to speak to an elderly person and write a report on their life for Social Studies class. We would like to interview you if we may.” answered Emma hesitatingly.

“What has you both so nervous?” teased Sabina. “Is it your first time in a hospice?”

They both nodded again. “Why don't you both get a drink and we can start. There is no need to be nervous. We elderly don't bite, well we can't, the teeth you see.” chuckled Sabina.

The girls went and got drinks and returned, more relaxed due to Sabinas joking and teasing.

“So Sabina, would you mind if we record the conversation to make it easier for us to write the report later?” Asked Janet.

“No dear, go ahead. Where would you like to start?” replied Sabina.

“How old are you Sabina, and where did you grow up?” Asked Emma.

“You know you shouldn't ask a lady her age.” said Sabina mock affronted, but with a twinkle in her eye but continued before the girls could get uncomfortable again. “I turned a 104 this year. I grew up in London. I was born just after the end of the first world war. My dad was a minor officer in the army and my mum was a secretary. Growing up during the post war rebuilding and then the great depression, we didn't have a lot, but we managed and still managed to have fun.” Sabina went into more detail about life day to day as a child in post war London.

“So you would have been a teenager when the second world war started?” asked Janet

“Yes, I volunteered and worked in a munitions factory during the second war. All the men were required to go off to war, so us ladies had to step and do all the jobs that men would have done. Before that there were a lot of things women just weren't allowed to do. You girls should appreciate the freedoms you have today.” replied Sabina. She continued talking about what the war was like, the bombing of London, life during the blitz, rationing and daily life in general.

“What did you do after the war?” asked Emma.

“I opened up and ran a chain of tailors and bakeries. It was hard work starting from scratch, but a lot of businesses were doing that. It was harder due to rationing after the war and the struggle of getting ingredients and materials. We had to learn to improvise with what we could get. Of the peg wasn't a thing back then and most people had clothes tailored. Cafes and bakeries were in most shopping streets, supermarkets were a new phenomenon. It wasn't just about the baking and tailoring. It was also managing the business, managing staff, dealing with suppliers and customers. Being a female owner was hard work as we weren't taken as seriously as men.” Sabina continued. She gave more examples of being given a hard time, everything from being refused lease on properties for being female to having to pay more for materials with the suppliers who would deal with her.

“Did you have boyfriends or get married?” asked Janet

“During the war it was a more free time, we didn't know what would happen, so yes I had my share of boy friends. We were probably more daring than you girls are now. I did get married after the war, but we were never able to have children. Medical science wasn't as advanced back then.” replied Sabina. She went into more details about her boyfriends and their little escapades making the girls giggle and gasp.

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“What happened to your businesses and what did you do after? Retire?” asked Emma.

“I sold off my businesses, and then I actually became a teacher in the local college. I taught history and economics. I saw my fair share of teenage drama in the 80s and 90s.” laughed Sabina.

“I carried on teaching until my husband became ill, then retired to spend time with him. After he passed away it has just been me. By now most of my friends have passed on too, such is life” mused Sabina.

“What do you dislike the most about getting old?” asked Janet

“It can get lonely, but after a long life you can learn to manage that. Also we didn't have all the devices to distract us, so my generation can always find things to keep busy, but the worst thing is the boredom. There are so many things you just can't do, like go out dancing, or travel to interesting and new places. As we didnt have kids, my husband and I got the opportunity to travel extensively. It's not like today, back then it was considered unusual to travel so much. It also wasn't as easy, not everyone spoke English, you had to learn the local languages and culture, plan your stays, and actually eat local foods. It was a much better way to travel, now it's the same wherever you go, I cant believe travel has become boring.” elucidated Sabina.

They spent the next few hours talking about Sabina’s experience exploring new cultures and travelling in an age without the internet and mobile phones.

As the girls thanked Sabina and left, Sabina felt the boredom of her life settle in one again. She really wished she would get to see and explore a new world again. Alas it was not to be.

That night Sabina went to sleep for the final time in this world.

*

In a bandit camp

Sa Bina looked on as the imperial army raided the bandit camp she was held captive in. She hoped that she would be able to get away. She had always been targeted due to her slightly western features in a country where most people had eastern features. Her light brown hair and light hazel eyes stood out amongst the sea of dark hair and eyes. Her parents, travelling merchants, had perished in the bandit raid that led to her being captured. She had mourned her parents' loss, but it had been months since then, and only features and the bandits' hope of getting a good price for her had allowed her to remain unmolested. The bandits hadn't been so kind to the other girls they had captured.

Being left unmolested had actually made her a pariah amongst the other slaves, leaving her being resented for the preferential treatment through no actions of her own. That left Sa Bina feeling even more lonely than ever. At only 13 years old she just didn't have any way to cope with her situation. She had heard horror stories about bandits and what happened to the enslaved, but hearing stories was a far cry from experiencing the horrors herself. As she watched the soldiers and bandits fight to the death another lack in her experiences was made apparent. She had never seen people die in front of her. Watching cultivators fight was horrifying, the Qi techniques destroyed the bandit camp, the sharp metallic smell of blood and acrid smell of burned flesh permeated the air making it hard to breath. Just as Sa Bina gathered her courage to try and make a run for it, the bandit leader joined the fight and the chaos of the battle intensified.

A stray burst of air Qi struck Sa Bina in the head, and she knew no more.

*

The realm of the gods

The goddess of death and reincarnation watched on as the army of souls re entered the wheel of life. In the aeons she had been doing this job nothing really changed. The boredom was getting to her, she really needed a change. However, as a function of the universe there was little she could do apart from watching mortals on the many planes of existence, or looking at the lives of the souls that passed through her realm. If only she could have some excitement in her long life.

As these thoughts ran through her head, the thoughts resonated with a soul just about to enter the wheel. The curiosity was enough for her to pull Sabina’s soul out of the line. With a causal thought the goddess experienced the life and thoughts of the soul. The soul had been just as bored of her life at the end. An idea came to the goddess. If she couldn't have excitement in her life, maybe she could experience it through the life of another. Yes, she would mark the soul with her mark and send her out into another world. She could look in from time to time to see how the soul fared in its travels.

Now where to send the soul. Sending the soul for reincarnation was out of the question, she didn't want the soul to lose all its memories and personality, that would defeat the object of the exercise. She also couldn't send the soul into a body that already had a soul, that would get her into real trouble and could cause all sorts of nonsense. It also had to be a good fit, a different race or sex of the vessel could cause different problems. No, she had to find a female body, recently dead, with minimum damage, ideally a young body. As she reviewed the new souls as they joined the wheel, she noticed the weak soul of Sa Bina. The coincidence made the goddess chuckle to herself. Even the universe had a sense of fun it seemed.

The goddess placed her mark on the soul, but made sure it was hidden from everyone but the most powerful gods. She added a boon that would allow the soul to seamlessly integrate with the body. It wouldn't do for the soul to be thought of as a body snatcher or demon. As much as that could be fun to watch, the chaos that would ensue, it would be mean spirited and against her function. No, she would keep it simple, but conversely she wouldn't help the soul or make it too easy. The goddess thought through what the minimum required for soul integration would be. She had ensured her mark was hidden, the body and soul would meld seamlessly, but she felt something was missing.

After a while of thinking she realised what it was, not knowing the local language would be a big give away that something was wrong, but conversely she couldn't just give the soul a universal language skill. Anyone with brains could work out that the person had a universal language skill by switching languages, and besides it was too powerful a boon. Finally she hit upon an idea: the soul could learn any language they were subjected to, either hearing it or reading it, but the comprehension level of the language would be limited to the comprehension level the soul had in their first language. Yes, that would be a good compromise, thought the goddess. She added the boon to the soul, made sure all her boons and marks were hidden once again then sent Sabina’s soul into Sa Bina’s body.

She then sat back to watch.